1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to clothes dryers and more particularly to a cabinet construction for a clothes dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In clothes dryers having a horizontal rotating drum there is generally provided an outer cabinet which encloses a drum, an electric motor used to rotate the drum as well as drive an air blower, and a heater which conditions the air used in the drying operation. The cabinet is generally formed out of sheet metal, separately formed into various panels or groups of panels such as the top panel, front panel, rear panel, bottom panels and side panels. Generally, the rear panel is made removable for access to the mechanisms such as the motor and heater described above. Such a removable rear panel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,384 at 27. Since the rear panel is generally hidden from view, exposed screws are utilized to hold the panel to the dryer frame as illustrated in FIG. 6. A similar removable back panel 206 is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,306 in FIG. 3. By making only the rear panel removable requires that the back of the dryer be accessible if service to an of the interior mechanisms is required. This often requires the dryer, which is heavy and bulky, to be pulled out of an installed location and sometimes requires the serviceman to work in a somewhat cramped space. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a clothes dryer having a removable front panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,035, assigned to the assignee of the present application, discloses a method of attaching a removable cabinet for front-serviceable appliances in which the appliance has a base frame supporting internal components, the base frame having a front member and side members and a rear panel attached thereto. A removable cabinet has a front bottom flange overlapping and extending beneath the front base frame member. Receptacles for receiving upwardly extending tabs from the side members are provided to position the cabinet with respect to the base. The cabinet is held in position on the base by a pair of spring clips engaging the rear panel and each having a portion abutting a top of the cabinet and curved portions extending into the cabinet through aligned slots in the top thereof to maintain a spring tension. The cabinet is thus retained without the use of screws and its removal does not impair the functional operation of the internal components.